Agenda: Opening Day of Forum

Room 1

Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is a highly effective option for individuals seeking recovery from alcohol and opioid use disorders.  Recognizing that two-thirds of individuals detained in jails have substance use disorders and the power of MAT to reduce the risk of post-release overdose death and recidivism, more and more correctional facility administrators across the country are offering MAT programs.  This session will explore multiple facilities’ unique approach to MAT, as well as commonalities pertaining to implementation, operation, and expansion.

Upon completion of the session, participants will be able to:

• Describe various jail-based MAT programs and how they operate.
• Explain why collaboration with partners is key to the success of any MAT program.
• Recognize elements of innovative programs that can be replicated to positively impact the lives of individuals who are receiving services.

Room 2

Peer recovery support services (PRSS) to address opioid, stimulant, and other substance use add validity to criminal justice settings, as persons with lived experience provide a unique perspective and increased ability for community outreach.  This session will explore best practices and common challenges for organizations that are newly implementing PRSS programming by:

• Exploring methods of bridging the link to connect people to trustworthy community resources.
• Highlighting tips for establishing a valid program through identifying and building stakeholder relationships.
• Discussing the movement toward a “connection” model and away from an “enforcement” model of recovery.
• Identifying steps for establishing an evidence base to secure and maintain programmatic funding.

Room 3

This workshop will examine how the state of Georgia is leveraging the expertise of individuals and available data from sources across different sectors to advance substance use prevention.  These data integration efforts resulted in a county-level social indicator study to assess prevention needs, as well as recommendations for improving data access for the purposes of needs assessment, planning, and evaluation of local prevention activities.  We will describe some of the unique data sources that have become important resources for addressing serious and emerging issues of substance abuse and how local providers can use these resources. Participants can relate to the need for multiple reliable and consistent sources of data to inform and support their local prevention activities.

By the end of this session, participants should be able to:

• Describe how they can use social indicator data in substance use prevention and criminal justice planning.
• Identify different data sources they may want to access and integrate to inform their local needs assessments.
• Describe aspects of this data integration process that can be replicated in their own jurisdictions.

Room 4

This session will provide an opportunity for Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) grant administrators and subgrantees to learn about the latest information and strategies from RSAT training and technical assistance (TTA) providers.  RSAT TTA providers will share updates to the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)-supported Promising Practices Guidelines (PPGs) and how the Fidelity Assessment Instrument (FAI) supports programs’ adherence to the PPGs.  
Guidance on future FAI participation will be presented, along with other training opportunities, including peer-to-peer site visits, webinars for staff to obtain continuing education credits, and showcases of model treatment programs for specialized populations.  RSAT TTA providers will give attendees the opportunity to network with administrators and staff from different states and territories to further encourage peer-to-peer learning.

Moderator and Speaker:  Stephen Keller
                                             RSAT Technical Assistance Coordinator and Research Associate, Advocates for Human Potential (AHP)

Room 1

The Center for Health and Justice, NORC at the University of Chicago, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and others collaborated on a first-of-its-kind, national, federally funded survey specific to first responder deflection and diversion built on the “Five Pathways” of deflection.  The survey and report encompass a comprehensive overview of the field and its role in responding to the opioid crisis—as well as how deflection offers alternatives to law enforcement and first responders in their work.  This session provides an overview and discussion of the survey and report’s key findings of more than 300 active deflection programs from around the United States, speaking to various issues, including:

• How law enforcement agency involvement is a common element of most deflection programs.
• The highly localized nature of deflection.
• How diverse collaborations of first responders and community-based treatment/service providers are driving growth of the field.
• The commonality of substance use treatment and recovery support services as critical elements of successful deflection programs.

By the end of this session, participants should be able to:

• Understand the nature of first responder deflection programs across the country.
• Understand key findings and trends from a national survey on first responder deflection programs.
• Learn implications of the survey on the planning, operations, and policies of their deflection program. 

Room 2

The impacts of historical trauma and unresolved grief can be a key contributing factor to addiction among tribal populations.  This session will provide an overview of historical and intergenerational trauma, review indicators of historical and intergenerational trauma, and examine the intersection between historical trauma and addiction.  Strategies to help tribal members and communities heal from historical trauma will be discussed.

Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:  

• Define historical and intergenerational trauma.
• Summarize the correlating factors between historical and intergenerational trauma and addiction.
• Identify strategies to assist tribal members and communities in healing from historical and intergenerational trauma.

Room 3

In practice, overdose fatality reviews (OFRs) involve a series of confidential individual death reviews by a multidisciplinary team to effectively identify system gaps and innovative community-specific overdose prevention and intervention strategies.  This session is designed for professionals wanting to start an OFR or in the early stages of implementing an OFR.

By the end of this session, participants should be able to:

• Summarize the value of an OFR.
• Identify essential OFR team members.
• Describe the meeting structure and expectations.
• Make use of resources and tools needed for a successful OFR.

Room 4

The importance of continuing care for individuals released from prison and jail cannot be overstated.  The first days and weeks following release from incarceration are when individuals are most vulnerable to fatal overdoses or when they may return to former patterns of unhealthy and criminal behaviors.  Reentry and aftercare are necessary to continue services into the community in order to reduce rates of returning to incarceration and to save lives.  Establishing collaborative relationships with community-based providers, parole and probation officers, peer recovery centers, local boards of health, and other supportive partners is vital to a prison’s or jail’s reentry program.  Various models of partnering with community support exist, and different forms may work better for jails versus prisons, urban versus rural areas, and specific regions and states.  Different examples of network building with community support will be presented in this session, along with other types of aftercare support.

Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

• List at least three reasons why reentry and continuing aftercare services upon release are vital to the health of the reentering individual and the community.
• Describe how reentry needs can be planned for, and met, prior to release.
• Name at least two potential collaborative partners within their community/region that could expand aftercare support for people released from the local jail and/or prison within their community/region.